Tadepalli : Rapthadu MLA Thopudurthi Prakash Reddy defends naming project after YSR

Tadepalli : YSRCP Rapthadu MLA Thopudurthi Prakash Reddy slammed TDP leaders for politicising the Upper Penna project naming after former chief minister Dr YS Rajashekar Reddy, who originally initiated the project.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, Prakash Reddy said that opposition TDP leaders are intentionally creating controversies over the project and making false propaganda through their favoured media. He said that Dr YS Rajashekar Reddy had started the Handri Neeva project in 2005, which is after the death of Paritala Ravindra. In 2007, people of Anantapur requested to provide water from Jeedipalli reservoir to Perur dam.

In the following year 2008, YSR had brought a feasibility report for the project and announced it to be constructed during the 2009 election campaign. He stated that there is no contribution of Paritala Ravi in bringing the project and questioned TDP leaders on what basis the government should name the project after him.

He said that N Chandrababu Naidu has also announced the same project during the 2014 election campaign, but issued the GO in January 2018, barely completing minor works of 5-10 per cent in five years. The estimates of this project were proposed at an escalated cost of Rs 1,140 crore leaving more space for corruption. Although the tenders were finalised for Rs 803 crore and the project was awarded to a company, even in that TDP leaders were involved in corruption, he alleged.

The previous TDP government had proposed to bring Puttakanuma reservoir, at a capacity of 0.6 tmc ft despite having no need with this and being an unfeasible one. However, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy reengineered the project where three reservoirs Muttala, Thopudurthi, and Devarakonda are to be constructed at the same cost of Rs 803 crores enhancing to the capacity of 3.9 tmc ft, which would irrigate 56,000 acre. The Chief Minister is bringing the project aiming to irrigate one lakh acres in Rapthadu, he said.

MLA Prakash Reddy said that the TDP leaders have used projects to loot money and instead of providing water, they pocketed money through corruption. Unlike the previous government, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had promised to bring three reservoirs in Rapthadu during his padayatra and stood by his word and thus initiated the project.